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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584619">Finding Faith</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik'>ZoneRobotnik</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Filling the Blanks [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Faith is such a sweetheart, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Varian is bitter and traumatized, people need to tell Varian things</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:16:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584619</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Cassandra took on little Faith's form as a disguise, what did she do with the REAL Faith to ensure she didn't show up and blow her cover? Varian goes to find her when there is a lull in preparations.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Faith &amp; Varian (Disney: Tangled)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Filling the Blanks [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801066</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Finding Faith</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The preparations to fight Cassandra were well underway, but something was bugging Varian. If the Faith that he’d walked to the Capital with was really <em>Cassandra</em>, which honestly if he’d known about the <em>cloak</em> he might’ve caught on that she was <em>different</em> before she managed to sneak in and attack from within, where was the <em>real</em> Faith?<br/>
<br/>
“Something wrong, son?” Quirin asked, seeing Varian looking worried.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m worried about Faith.” He frowned. “If Cassandra was taking her form, where would she have put the <em>real</em>…” He gasped, looking up. “…Oh. Of course.”<br/>
<br/>
“Of course, what?” Quirin asked.<br/>
<br/>
He set down the list. “I’ll be back.” He said, taking off at a run.<br/>
<br/>
“Son? Wait, what are you—where are you going?”<br/>
<br/>
“Varian?” Rapunzel questioned as he ran by her, but he ignored her.<br/>
<br/>
If Cassandra needed Faith to be kept out of the way so she didn’t interfere, it would have to be somewhere that Cassandra had complete control over. But, still, he hoped that she was just hiding. He checked all of Faith’s usual hiding spots first.<br/>
<br/>
A grove they often hung out in when they met in the wood yielded nothing.<br/>
<br/>
Old Lady Gothel’s place was…uh…a busted-up wreck. Still, he climbed the black rocks to get inside anyways, hoping he’d find her there.<br/>
<br/>
“Not here.” He murmured, looking around the ruins as he carefully navigated the tilted structure. “But, clearly <em>Cassandra</em> has been.”<br/>
<br/>
He spotted an open door that led to a cave, but one whiff told him that there was poison gas inside and he kept away from there and climbed back up and out of the building and back down the black rocks.<br/>
<br/>
“For being obsessed with your mother, you sure didn’t take care of her things well.” He commented as he left for the woods again.<br/>
<br/>
Okay, so the grove was out, the old cottage was out, things were looking bleak. He checked an old logging cabin and even Old Corona before finally resigning himself to the worst case again. Cassandra had her in the tower, most likely. He looked up at it, fear running through his veins.<br/>
<br/>
“Faith…could be up there.” He clenched his fists. If <em>he</em> was scared, then she was even <em>more</em> scared. The poor girl was terrified of her own shadow and was too scared to even approach the red rocks that day – which is why she was never affected by them, thank goodness.<br/>
<br/>
At least, he <em>hoped</em> she wasn’t. The last time he saw her that day before going into the Demantinus Chamber, she was worrying over her sister. Maybe the worry for the reality overrode her fears. Or maybe she’d just come to terms with them. At least she didn’t have anything like <em>encasing her father in amber</em> or <em>becoming a traitor</em> to worry about.<br/>
<br/>
Thinking of the Demanitus Chamber only made him remember his kidnapping again and the fear struck once more. That once-beautiful chamber had been utterly destroyed by the woman, and when he’d tried to run, she’d knocked him out with his own sleep bomb. Then she’d used his own truth serum on him. Using his own alchemy against him…<br/>
<br/>
And “Project Obsidian” didn’t even <em>work</em> on her! He thought he could conquer his fear of her by being able to fight, but he…he couldn’t even do <em>that</em>!<br/>
<br/>
And then there was that warning Eugene gave him, reminding him that his father was in the Brotherhood just like Adira and Hector, who were slaves to Cassandra’s Mindtrap – <em>another thing that he hadn’t been told about until it was used to attack them!</em><br/>
<br/>
He’d said it before and he’d say it again many times, they <em>really</em> needed to tell him things like this <em>before they became a problem</em>!<br/>
<br/>
But…he had access to his father’s armor. If Eugene was right…he didn’t want to fight his father. It would hurt, but he knew what might be able to stop him.<br/>
<br/>
Before he knew it, he was at the foot of the tower. The door was open, the stairs in view. He stopped and looked around, seeing phantom images of his kidnapping. The chains he’d been bound with that night were still lying on the ground next to the large piece of rubble he was chained to. He could see the log she’d sat on, demanding the incantation before revealing she’d drugged him.<br/>
<br/>
It had hurt SO much to keep lying for the next few days after his kidnapping, but he would rather face that pain than be an inconvenience to Rapunzel.<br/>
<br/>
He looked towards the tower, swallowing back the fear, and started through the open door. Why was the door open? Maybe Faith wasn’t here. What if she was caged, and he couldn’t free her? He knew the way well. Those stairs. He bypassed the deceptive other paths and started to make the long, tedious climb, feeling the weight of his fear of that day push down on his body and make each step difficult.<br/>
<br/>
For all he knew, Cassandra would be up here. It’d been quite some time since she took over the castle, and she knew that he and Faith were friends from when she’d taken her form with that cloak. He wrapped his arms around himself, his body trembling. What if she caught him in here? What would she<em> do</em> to him if she found him here? He stopped, hyperventilating, but Ruddiger’s paw on his cheek knocked him out of his panic attack.<br/>
<br/>
“Faith.” He breathed, walking on. “I have to find Faith. If I don’t find her, no one will. Her sister’s not among the escaped citizens, no one else <em>cares</em> about her…” He moved a hand to rest on the wall of the spiral staircase.<br/>
<br/>
<strong><em>{And then what?}</em></strong><br/>
<br/>
He tensed, recalling Cassandra’s words as she forced him to walk up these same stairs. A question to an unknown entity. No, not unknown. Zhan Tiri, who he had been told had been manipulating her. Zhan Tiri, who had invaded his dreams and told him about how to find the fourth incantation. Zhan Tiri, the demon of legend, who Demanitus had battled along with her Disciples. That’s who she had been talking to in the Demanitus Chamber and when she was walking him up these stairs.<br/>
<br/>
How the <em>heck</em> did Cassandra even get <em>involved</em> with the demon? Clearly, it had happened at some point when they were on their merry adventure, while Varian was in High-Security Prison, barely clinging to his sanity.<br/>
<br/>
How ironic that he managed to <em>regain</em> his, while she completely <em>lost</em> hers. It was like they were on a seesaw of fate; when he was sane, she was insane. When he was good, she was bad. He hated it, he wanted off this stupid seesaw.<br/>
<br/>
The tower was way too tall, and it gave him <em>way</em> too much time to think. It didn’t help that he could hear Cassandra’s voice from her conversation with Zhan Tiri at every turn.<br/>
<br/>
Finally, he reached the top. He placed his hand on the wall, panting heavily, and stepped onto the floor beyond.<br/>
<br/>
<strong><em>{Look, I know none of this is your fault, and I don’t want to hurt you. So, when Rapunzel comes for you, don’t do anything foolish.}</em></strong><br/>
<br/>
He shook away the memory, the voices in his head, the images his mind projected in certain spots.<br/>
<br/>
And he felt a rush of relief when he saw a familiar brown-haired figure in a yellow dress standing by the window. “Faith!” He called, running to her.<br/>
<br/>
She jolted like a scared rabbit and looked over at him with wide, blue-gray eyes. “Varian?!” She cried, relief on her face. “Varian, it’s you!” She ran to him and they embraced in the middle, both of them slumping to the floor as tears of relief slipped down their cheeks.<br/>
<br/>
“Varian, I-I was so <em>scared</em> and so <em>worried</em>, I—I knew about your invention and I saw the black rocks attack the castle from the window and I was s-so <em>scared</em> that she’d found out about your weapon and hurt you!”<br/>
<br/>
“Shh, it’s okay. I’m okay. Are <em>you</em> okay?” He sat back a bit, looking her over. She had a bruise on her arm, from rough handling most likely, but otherwise didn’t seem all that hurt. “She <em>hurt </em>you…” He said, his eyes widening as rage boiled his blood.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m okay.” She cupped his face in her hands. Ruddiger chittered to her and she giggled a bit before petting his head, her other hand still on Varian’s cheek. “I’m okay, Varian. That was just…I shouldn’t have tried to run. I…” She bowed her head. “She threatened my sister…”<br/>
<br/>
He clenched his fists. “We’ll make her pay.” He promised.<br/>
<br/>
He felt eyes on them and stood up quickly, turning to look around. He didn’t see anyone, but he still held Faith close when she stood up next to him, her trembling hand taking his gloved one. “…Let’s go.” He looked at her. “She’s taken Corona, but a group of us managed to escape. You can come with us. O-Or, if you don’t want to fight, I can take you to my home in Old Corona.” He turned to her. “You’ll be safe there.”<br/>
<br/>
She nodded, sniffling. “O-Okay.”<br/>
<br/>
He wiped at his eyes and she used her dress to wipe her own before they headed for the stairs together. “It’s going to be okay.” He assured her. “You’re safe now.”<br/>
<br/>
She nodded, holding his hand tighter as they made their way back down. She looked over her shoulder before looking forward and clutching at his sleeve with her free hand, whimpering a bit. He understood what she was going through, having been captured up here before himself.<br/>
<br/>
He wondered if, if he wasn’t caged, would he have been able to run away that day? Or would he have just stayed by the window, watching and praying for rescue from a woman that had completely lost her mind?<br/>
<br/>
The walk down was just as bad as the walk up and they held onto each other tightly as they walked, their steps echoing in the dark tower.<br/>
<br/>
“Have you seen Old Lady Gothel’s place?” He asked as they walked. “It’s a <em>wreck</em>. She<em> destroyed</em> it.”<br/>
<br/>
“W-Why?” She looked at him. “W-W-Wasn’t she her <em>mother</em>?”<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “Maybe she found out something about her that pissed her off. Maybe she was just…on a rampage. I heard Princess Rapunzel went there and ran into her, so maybe<em> that’s</em> when it happened.”<br/>
<br/>
Faith sighed. “…I got dared to <em>go</em> there once. I couldn’t do it.” She admitted.<br/>
<br/>
“Me too.” He chuckled. “Only, I <em>did</em> do it, and got stuck overnight.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh no!” She gasped in horror.<br/>
<br/>
“Eh, I managed.” He shrugged.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re so brave.” She smiled. “I wish <em>I</em> could be that brave.”<br/>
<br/>
“Eh, comes with being raised on a farm and not as a castle maid.” He nudged her with a smile. “But, uh…” He sighed. “I…these rocks terrify me.”<br/>
<br/>
“Of course they do. They’re <em>magic</em>.” She nudged him back with a giggle.<br/>
<br/>
He laughed. “No, no, I’m sure there is a—”<br/>
<br/>
“—perfectly scientific explanation, because magic—” She cut in.<br/>
<br/>
“—doesn’t exist.” They finished together, laughing.<br/>
<br/>
He sighed and looked at her. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried that you’d be in a cage like <em>I</em> was, or…or badly hurt. Corona…when I think of how close I came to being trapped in that place.” He looked away, pursing his lips. “She hurt me before, and that was <em>before</em> I tried to encase her in amber. She would surely have <em>tortured</em> me if she caught me…”<br/>
<br/>
She tightened her hold on his sleeve. “I’m…I’m glad you got out, then.”<br/>
<br/>
He smiled and looked at her. “I’m glad too, because I was able to find you.”<br/>
<br/>
Ruddiger nuzzled both of them and they laughed, the sound echoing in the tower and making them feel slightly better about their situation.<br/>
<br/>
“How much further is it?” Faith asked as they walked on.<br/>
<br/>
“I didn’t count.” He admitted. “And I haven’t been counting on the way down. But, it goes faster if we don’t think about it.”<br/>
<br/>
She nodded. “I feel…less afraid, though. With you here.”<br/>
<br/>
He nodded. “Me too.”<br/>
<br/>
They finally reached the bottom and Varian led her to the side of the door and then cautiously looked out before leading her out into the sunlight. They heard a cawing and he looked up at King Edmund’s crow, who had apparently perched on a tree outside. He gave a cheerful wave and led Faith away, going through the tunnel to the rest of the woods.<br/>
<br/>
She let out a relieved sob as they left the grove and clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her close, sighing softly. “It’s okay. It’s over.” He assured her. “Let’s get you to Old Corona, get you something warm to drink.”<br/>
<br/>
She nodded, sniffling, and let him lead her through the woods, out of the shadow cast by the tower.<br/>
<br/>
He bitterly recalled walking the opposite direction with who he <em>thought</em> was Faith before. He’d told her to tell Cassandra that he wasn’t a tool to be used, but it was just Cassandra all along, <em>using him as a cover to get inside</em>. He was her alibi, and she played him like a fiddle, coaxing out secrets under the guise of his friend.<br/>
<br/>
She would <em>pay</em> for that.<br/>
<br/>
He felt her hand tighten on his and he looked at her. “Faith?”<br/>
<br/>
“You’ve…got that <em>look</em> on again.” She said nervously.<br/>
<br/>
He laughed a bit. “’That look’?”<br/>
<br/>
“You know, the ‘I’m contemplating being a bad guy again’ look that you often have whenever Mister Lance blows up something you’ve been working on for a while.” She said, smiling awkwardly.<br/>
<br/>
He blinked and then laughed. “The ’I’m contemplating being a bad guy again’ look. Wow. Well, don’t worry.” He chuckled and stopped, turning to her. “I won’t <em>ever</em> be a bad guy again. But…” He sighed. “Lance can be <em>so draining</em>; can you <em>blame</em> me if I did?”<br/>
<br/>
She giggled.<br/>
<br/>
“Seriously, though, I was just thinking about how I wanted to get back at Cassandra for using your form to trick me into leading her right to Corona.” He admitted. “The amber shattered so easily around the Moonstone…if only I could rip it out of her chest…but, that would require getting close to her. Maybe I could…surrender myself? But then, who would build the portal to seal away Zhan Tiri? I’m the only one with that kind of…you know, ability.”<br/>
<br/>
She nodded, but she had the “I don’t know what you’re talking about” smile on. “Building a portal to seal a demon is probably a <em>much</em> better idea than getting yourself locked up at Miss Cassandra’s mercy again.”<br/>
<br/>
He chuckled. “Yeah, it really is. Still, can you imagine if I could get it from her? Just rip it out, she’s no longer a danger, then we can lock up the Moonstone so <em>no one</em> has it. I…don’t know what destroying it would do, or if it’s even possible. I mean, it made Princess Rapunzel’s hair be…uh…indestructible.”<br/>
<br/>
“What if <em>you</em> had it?” She suggested.<br/>
<br/>
“Are you kidding? That thing drove her<em> insane</em>. I am <em>not</em> going down that path again.” He shook his head.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re right, dumb Faith.” She nodded.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re not dumb.” He assured her. “It might be a good plan, but I’m <em>already</em> pretty unstable. Bad idea.”<br/>
<br/>
He looked ahead of them as they reached Old Corona. “Well, here we are.”<br/>
<br/>
He led her to his home and opened the door, finally letting go of her hand to lead her to sit at a table while he went to put the kettle on.<br/>
<br/>
She looked around, her gaze falling on cracks where black rocks had burst through before. “It must have been so horrible.”<br/>
<br/>
“Hm?” He looked at her.<br/>
<br/>
“Living here with the black rocks actively growing.” She clasped her hands in her lap.<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah.” He nodded. “It was pretty rough.”<br/>
<br/>
“Varian?”<br/>
<br/>
He looked over as the door opened again and Rapunzel and Eugene came in. “Oh, thank goodness. We couldn’t find you, so we decided to come here but you weren’t here but you weren’t anywhere else and so we—Faith!” Rapunzel ran over and hugged her. “Faith, you’re okay!”<br/>
<br/>
“U-Uh, yes, Princess.” She said awkwardly, then nodded to Eugene. “C-Captain.”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>That’s</em> our girl.” Eugene sighed. “I don’t know how we <em>ever</em> mistook her for you.”<br/>
<br/>
Varian turned to them. “Cassandra had her in the tower, she threatened her sister if she left when Cassandra was using her form. Considering the situation, I think it’s safe for her to leave. I’m going to keep her here until it’s safe.”<br/>
<br/>
“Alright.” Rapunzel nodded, then noticed a bruise on Faith’s arm. “What happened?”<br/>
<br/>
“I-I tried to run, and she was holding me, so she tightened her grip. A…bit too much, I guess.” Faith explained.<br/>
<br/>
Varian got out mugs and tea leaves to serve everyone drinks.<br/>
<br/>
“Varian, it’s good that you got her, but you <em>can’t</em> just go running off like that.” Eugene walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Cassandra already took you once; if you’d left and no one had <em>seen</em> you leave? We would’ve feared the <em>worst</em>. I mean, we <em>still</em> did, what if you were captured while running off? Why didn’t you get one of us to go with you?”<br/>
<br/>
He sighed, putting the leaves into the mugs. “I know, it was reckless. But I was…I wanted to save her. I wanted to be the one to actually <em>save someone</em>, instead of being…” The kettle started to whistle and he turned off the flame before pouring the water into the cups and carefully stirring. “A victim.” He put the drinks on a tray and brought them over for everyone to drink.<br/>
<br/>
“Where’d you learn to make tea?” Rapunzel asked curiously.<br/>
<br/>
“Xavier taught me.” Varian replied before putting the tray away and sitting down to drink. Eugene sat next to him.<br/>
<br/>
Faith quietly sipped her drink, then set it down before looking up at him. “Do you…<em>have</em> to go in there?”<br/>
<br/>
“I do.” Varian nodded.<br/>
<br/>
“But, it’s too dangerous! If she catches you, she might hurt you again!” Faith insisted.<br/>
<br/>
“The portal has to be built on-site; I don’t have a choice.” He shook his head.<br/>
<br/>
“Wait, are you two <em>friends</em>?” Rapunzel seemed to finally realize.<br/>
<br/>
“Uh…yeah.” Varian nodded. “I mean, we’ve sort of been kind of friends since the expo.” He looked at her. “She was one of the only people to not turn me away after what I did.”<br/>
<br/>
“He wasn’t so bad, during the takeover.” Faith said softly. “He made sure that none of the Saporians bothered me. One time, he took me out of a room I was cleaning because he heard some Saporians say they were going to be in there and we just sat and ate cut fruit until they left. There was more of a mess to clean up…but, at least I wasn’t in there for it.” She looked at her cup. “A-And he was kind. Despite everything. And we talked some, he told me his concerns about the progress of the Quin…Qui…”<br/>
<br/>
“Quirineon.” Varian offered helpfully. “I planned to take her out of the city when we used it, so she…she wouldn’t forget. But, then Andrew decided to…go and break his promise, planning to kill everyone not in the castle itself…” He sighed heavily. “It’s…a good thing you came back when you did. I doubt I could’ve actually stopped him.”<br/>
<br/>
Eugene sipped at his tea. “So, this is fun and all, but we <em>do</em> need you back at camp. We have to make sure we have everything and we have an attack to plan.”<br/>
<br/>
“Right.” Varian nodded. “After we finish our tea, we’ll go. I just wanted to help Faith calm down, she was up there all alone for hours and, if she left, her sister would’ve been hurt.”<br/>
<br/>
Rapunzel frowned. “She said that? Then…maybe she really <em>did</em> not want to apologize…but, I really hoped…”<br/>
<br/>
“Maybe she did, she just…acted rashly. Like when she kidnapped me and held me hostage when all she wanted was the incantation.” Varian shrugged.<br/>
<br/>
Rapunzel sighed. “Maybe.”<br/>
<br/>
“But then, it <em>was</em> Cassandra disguised as Faith that told me that her not attacking Corona yet was a sign that she wasn’t all bad, sooooo…” He finished his tea and got up. “I’m not too confident on her being a good person0. Since, you know, she disguised as Faith and snuck into the city and then <em>attacked people</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, no. She’s bad.” Eugene nodded. Rapunzel frowned at him.<br/>
<br/>
“At least when<em> I </em>pretended to be good again, I wasn’t in <em>disguise</em>.” Varian grumbled, going to wash his cup. “She’s reading from my book but doing everything all <em>wrong</em>.”<br/>
<br/>
“’Reading from your book’?” Eugene asked.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, sure. Let’s see, uh, stealing a mystical artifact? Check. Using the princess to <em>get</em> said artifact? Check. Sneaking into the castle? Yep, that, too. Betraying the kingdom, yeah. Kidnapping? Oh, yeah, uh, double-check.” He gestured to Faith and himself. “But, she’s…really…” He made a vague motion with his hands. “She doesn’t actually <em>know what she wants</em>. She’s a puppet for a demon. Even when she was taking me into that tower, she was asking it for advice. Frankly, she’s pitiful.”<br/>
<br/>
He turned to them. “What is her big reason for turning on Rapunzel? Losing things? Having nothing? She had everything, and she only lost it from her <em>own actions</em>. She had friends, she had family. Sure, it wasn’t her <em>birth</em> family, but why throw it all away for a mother that abandoned her? At least when <em>I</em> lost it, I <em>truly</em> had <em>nothing</em>. I had been <em>abandoned </em>for <em>weeks</em>, <em>herded</em> by the Royal Guard <em>for weeks</em>. My mother left me and then supposedly died, never confirmed, when I was three. My father was trapped by my own…my own creation, born from desperation due to the King’s inaction. I was a criminal, I had <em>Wanted posters</em> before I did a single crime, because the King spread a rumor that I attacked the Princess. In comparison…she’s <em>pathetic.</em> A <em>mockery</em> of my pain. And that…it’s pitiful.”<br/>
<br/>
He walked over to Rapunzel. “I know you said that facing her was the worst threat Corona has ever faced, but let’s face it. You <em>knew</em> you were wrong. I did <em>everything</em> she’s doing, and I didn’t need a demon or magic to do it.”<br/>
<br/>
He walked to the door. “But, you know, good pep talk. Got morale up. Now, let’s go back to camp and plan to stop Cassandra, then give her the punishment she deserves.” He opened the door. “You know, like <em>I</em> got.” He walked out. “See you, Faith.”<br/>
<br/>
Faith went to the door and hugged him. “Be safe. I’ll see you when this is over.”<br/>
<br/>
He nodded. “I’ll let you know when the castle is safe.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, with Miss Crowley, it’s <em>never</em> safe.” She giggled a bit.<br/>
<br/>
“You know what I mean.” He rubbed her head and then she went in, Rapunzel and Eugene stepping out to join him.<br/>
<br/>
“…Let’s do this.” Rapunzel nodded.<br/>
<br/>
Eugene helped Varian onto Maximus while Rapunzel got on Fidella and then Varian waved over his shoulder with a smile as they rode off back to camp.<br/>
<br/>
She waved back, clutching at the doorframe anxiously. “Be safe!” She called.<br/>
<br/>
He nodded, then looked forward, his hand moving up to stroke Ruddiger’s fur and soothe his silent rage. He needed to focus to seal away Zhan Tiri.<br/>
<br/>
End</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time to go and fight a monster. Oh, and Zhan Tiri, too.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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